Given that a learner has attitudes and perceptions conducive to
learning and is using effective habits of mind, the learner's first job is
to acquire and integrate new knowledge (Dimension 2); that is, the
learner must assimilate new knowledge and skills with what she already
knows. As we have seen, this is a subjective process of interaction
between old and new information. Then, over time, the learner develops
new knowledge through activities that help her extend and refine her
current knowledge (Dimension 3). The ultimate purpose of learning,
though, is to use knowledge in meaningful ways (Dimension 4). As
Figure 1.2 indicates, Dimensions 2, 3, and 4 work in concert. As a learner
acquires and integrates knowledge (Dimension 2), she also extends and